DocFest

22nd SF DocFest Announced

Posted by sfindie May 16, 2023 635 views

Announcing the
22nd SF Documentary Film Festival
(SF DocFest) June 1 – 11, 2023

The 22nd San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (SF DocFest) will be held June 1 – 11, 2023. SF DocFest will screen 39 features and 47 shorts. The festival will once again be presented as a hybrid of virtual screenings and live presentations. There are 35 films that will screen at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco. The majority of the in-person screenings held at the Roxie Theater will also include live Q&A sessions.

For those who are unable to attend in person, the festival may be attended virtually through on-demand screenings and pre-recorded Q&A sessions. A selection of 83 films will be available virtually during the festival at https://watch.eventive.org/sfdocfest2023.

The full festival program may be found at https://sfdocfest2023.eventive.org.

Please find a few of this year’s festival program highlights below.

HEADLINERS

OPENING NIGHT

26.2 TO LIFE
Christine Yoo
Filmed inside California’s oldest state prison, 26.2 TO LIFE explores the transformative power of San Quentin’s 1000 Mile Club, in which incarcerated men train for and run a marathon on the dirt and concrete path circling the prison yard. Through intimate access behind the walls of the infamous correctional facility, the film confronts the meaning of personal transformation within the greater crisis of the American carceral state.

FANTASTIC NEGRITO: HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND YET?
Yvan Iturriaga, Francisco Nuñez Capriles
Mercurial bluesman Fantastic Negrito (Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz) faces his demons amidst the mental health crisis ravaging his community. Digging deep as a survivor of domestic abuse, drug violence, and brutal racism, the film captures Negrito creating his most personal album to date.

CENTERPIECE

HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY
Leslie Tai
There is a city in Southern California that is teeming with pregnant women from China. HOW TO HAVE AN AMERICAN BABY is a kaleidoscopic voyage, told through multiple perspectives, into the booming shadow economy of Chinese birth tourism that has taken over the Chinese enclaves of Los Angeles County.

CLOSING NIGHT

BLACK BARBIE
Lagueria Davis
Through intimate access to a charismatic Mattel insider, Beulah Mae Mitchell, BLACK BARBIE delves into the cross section of merchandise and representation as Black women struggle to elevate their own voices and stories, refusing to be invisible.

SATAN WANTS YOU
Steve Adames, Sean Horlor
SATAN WANTS YOU is a feature documentary about the shocking story of how a young woman and her psychiatrist helped ignite the global Satanic Panic with their bestselling memoir Michelle Remembers.

SPECIAL EVENTS

OPENING NIGHT ART SHOW AND AFTERPARTY
Thursday, June 1, 2023 at 8:00 PM PT
518 Valencia Gallery, 518 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Free, tickets available here.
Join the cast and crew from 26.2 TO LIFE in celebrating opening night at the 22nd annual San Francisco Documentary Film Festival. The evening also pays tribute to Ronnie Goodman, who originated the idea of holding a marathon inside San Quentin.Goodman was a homeless exhibited artist encamped near the Roxie Theater that was known throughout the local community for his work. Pieces of his art will be showcased at the gallery.

PRINCE’S BIRTHDAY SING-A-LONG PARTY
Saturday, June 3, 2023 at 9:30 PM PT
Roxie Theater House 1, 3117 16th St, San Francisco, CA 94103
$15, tickets available here.
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here on this day… to celebrate the Purple One’s birthday! Sing along to a program of Prince and Prince-adjacent music videos. Don’t worry, lyrics are provided.

DOCUMENTARY PRODUCERS ALLIANCE PANEL
Sunday, June 4, 2023 at 1:00 PM PT
518 Valencia Gallery, 518 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110
Free, tickets available here.

TICKETS AND PASSES

Individual tickets and passes are available for this year’s festival.

Note that masks are not required this year, but we kindly ask that you stay home if you are feeling sick, may be experiencing any symptoms, or may have been exposed to any contagions.

Individual tickets for virtual shows are $10 each.

Individual tickets for screenings at the Roxie Theater range from $15-24 each.

Live + Virtual Pass is $175 each. It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11) and all live festival screenings at the Roxie Theater (June 1-8).

Live + Virtual Donor Pass is $225 each. It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11) and all live festival screenings at the Roxie Theater (June 1-8). Additionally, you’ll receive recognition for your generous support of independent film storytelling.

Virtual Screening Pass is $90 each. It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11).

Virtual Screening Donor Pass is $140 each. It includes access to all virtual on-demand films via the online screening platform (June 1-11). Additionally, you’ll receive recognition for your generous support of independent film storytelling.

DOCFEST 2023 STAFF

Founder/Director: Jeff Ross; Programming: Chris Metzler, Sarah Flores, Gigi Haycock, Dominique O’Neil; Publicity: Larsen Associates; Graphic Design: Michael Madfes

The full festival program and additional information is available at sfindie.com. You may also contact DocFest at 415-662-FEST, or by emailing info@sfindie.com.
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SAN FRANCISCO DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL (SF DOCFEST)

Since 2001, SF DocFest has brought the most weird and wonderful aspects of real life to the big screen. What started as a three-day event in an empty church in Union Square has become a two-week long festival across different venues in the Bay Area. Presented each year by SF IndieFest, the 20th San Francisco Documentary Film Festival (SF DocFest) will take place from June 3rd through 20th both online and in theaters this year. More information is available at sfindie.com. You may also contact DocFest at 415-662-FEST or via email at info@sfindie.com.

*denotes a local film or connection.